The key factors Aitor Karanka must address as he looks to hit the ground running as Nottingham Forest manager

Aitor Karanka will hardly inherit a club in crisis as he takes on the role of Nottingham Forest manager but there is some work to be done if he is to transform a youthful Reds squad into promotion contenders

Middlesbrough's Spanish manager Aitor Karanka gestures from the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium in London on October 22, 2016. / AFP / Ian KINGTON / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read IAN KINGTON/AFP/Getty Images) (Image: Getty)

Aitor Karanka will begin work as Nottingham Forest manager tomorrow, when he meets the players and staff at the Nigel Doughty Academy for the first time.

And the former Middlesbrough boss will be fully aware of the size and scope of the challenge he is taking on, following lengthy discussions with the Reds hierarchy, as they persuaded him to accept the role – and then outlined their expectations.

But, with 20 games of the Championship campaign still to play – and with ambitions of Premier League football still burning strong at the City Ground, Karanka will need to hit the ground running.

The Spaniard will not be under any significant pressure to forge a promotion push this season but his challenge will be to continue the work begun by Mark Warburton, by building a squad of players that is capable of putting together a meaningful push for the Premier League beyond that.

Former Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka (Image: Getty)

He has done it once before with Middlesbrough, who he led into the top flight in his second full season, finishing second in the table 12 months after painfully losing out in the play-off final to Norwich.

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Now, as he goes about repeating that task with the Reds, Paul Taylor takes a look at five key factors Karanka must focus on, if he is to get Forest back moving on an upward curve.

Bring some defensive resolve: Karanka’s defensive record at Middlesbrough was, slightly bizarrely, used as a stick to beat him with by some when his appointment was announced.

But it is one of the reasons why it made him a logical, sensible choice for the Reds.

During their promotion season Middlesbrough conceded only 31 goals in 46 Championship matches – including only EIGHT on home turf at the Riverside.

While Karanka did face some criticism for being too negative in the Premier League, the same was not true during the two-and-a-half years he had at the helm in the second tier where a solidity at the back did not come at the expense of any attacking ambition.

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Karanka’s possession based, passing game can probably be regarded as a slightly more disciplined version of that favoured by Warburton.

Mark Warburton addresses the media (Image: Mark Fear)

There was no denying that Warburton’s brand of football was entertaining and when it clicked, Forest looked unstoppable. But, for all their attacking threat in the final third, there was also too often a vulnerability and fragility at the other end of the pitch.

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On a similar subject: With Joe Worrall suspended following his Arsenal red card and Tendayi Darikwa and Jack Hobbs both injured, Nottingham forest do not have a host of options to call upon within their back four.

Danny Fox in action at Pride Park (Image: Dan Westwell)

Danny Fox is back close to full fitness – and is certainly injury free - following his fractured kneecap and Matt Mills did come off the bench as a substitute against the Gunners.

But Karanka will not have a great deal of flexibility when it comes to picking his defence to face Aston Villa, with Eric Lichaj likely to slot in at right back, Armand Traore on the left and Mills and Michael Mancienne in the centre.

And at least one new defender, if not two, will surely be on his January shopping list.

Warburton was planning to sign a more experienced goalkeeper and a central defender during the January window – and those ambitions are unlikely to have changed with the change in manager, even if Jordan Smith did produce another generally impressive performance against Arsene Wenger’s side, when he made some vital saves.

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If Karanka is to bring additional defensive resolve to the Reds ranks, he must add a left sided central defender as a bare minimum.

And that is before you consider the prospect of fringe players moving on in January.

Apostolos Vellios scored his first Forest goal at Villa Park last season (Image: Getty)

This way please, gentlemen: Again on a related theme... Karanka must make quick decisions over a few of the more peripheral figures in the dressing room he will inherit.

Players like Hobbs (purely because of his injury issues), Mills, Jamie Ward and Apostolos Vellios had been told by Warburton that they could move on in January, if they wished to pursue regular football elsewhere.

Karanka might not automatically share Warburton’s desire for a compact 22-man squad, but he will still want to make room for new additions over the next three weeks or so until the end of the transfer window.

And he will have days, rather than weeks, to forge his own opinion about such players.

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Muzzy Carayol, having found his opportunities limited under Warburton, could have been forgiven had he felt a fresh sense of optimism about his own future at the club following the former Brentford and Rangers manager’s departure.

That bubble may also well have burst all over again following the appointment of Karanka, who had handed him few opportunities during the winger’s time at Middlesbrough – albeit during a, injury-hit period of his career.

Mustapha Carayol scores against Reading in April (Image: Mark Fear)

Karanka will inherit a squad of 26 first team players and, presuming he hopes to bring in at least three or four new additions to stamp his own influence on things from the off, the numbers do not quite add up.

Keeping a squad of 30 players happy when you can only use 18 on a Saturday afternoon would be a huge challenge – and would potentially also limit the opportunities of the next generation of talent coming through.

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Which leads us nicely onto: The remit handed to Warburton when he took on the job was to put together a vibrant young squad that would grow and learn together; that would only get stronger with time.

When he submitted a list of January transfer targets that included another clutch of young men in their early 20s, the view was taken that he had taken that mentality just a little bit too far.

Barrie McKay, Jason Cummings and Kieran Dowell all added quality as well as youth to the Forest mix and to a group that already included academy products Jordan Smith, Joe Worrall, Ben Osborn, Matty Cash, Ben Brereton and Tyler Walker.

Reds goalkeeper Jordan Smith (Image: Mark Fear)

Forest’s academy staff believe there are plenty more young men with just as much potential coming through the ranks, including the likes of Anel Ahmedhodzic, Toby Edser, Arvin Appiah, Brennan Johnson and Alex Mighten regarded as the next crop of young men who are likely to make the step up.

Beyond that, Premier League clubs – including Manchester United – are keen on two 16-year-olds coming through the Reds ranks.

Five academy products started the game against Arsenal with another, in Walker, coming off the bench.

Karanka is a manager who was happy to give youth an opportunity at Middlesbrough. But it is vital that he maintains that mentality at the City Ground where the work of Brazil, Gareth Holmes and many others cannot be allowed to go to waste.

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But it’s not all about the kids: It was 18-year-old Brereton who grabbed the headlines because of the almost insolent manner in which he toyed with and tormented World Cup winner Per Mertesacker against Arsenal.

The striker, along with the rampaging figure of Cash and later, sub Walker, constantly tormented the Gunners defence as Forest secured a win that will live long in the memory. While Everton loanee Dowell set up one and scored another.